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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. The tickets are free of ________________.
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. We're on a ________________ here.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. rash — hasty
  3. charge — electricity
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. wake — a trail
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. charge — a price
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. kid — to tease
  12. roll — a cake
  13. roll — on a roll
  14. bore — to tire
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. bowl — to roll
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. kid — child
  20. charge — in control
  21. rash — a series
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. roll — a list
  24. bore — to drill

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com